Possible new Alexandria City high school boundaries?

[Anonymous]

I read on this forum that the ACPS Board has been discussing a new high school for Alexandria targeting 2027 and that there was already a tentative zone map drawn up. I haven't been able to located it though. Anyone have any information on this?

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's crazy! They need a new high school now. Not 10 yrs from now.

[Anonymous]

ACPS is in the process of modernizing its school facilities. This is a process that is expected to take place over the next ten years. The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the next ten years includes a new elementary school, new middle school and new high school building to fully address ACPS seating capacity needs by 2027.See information about the Capital Improvement Program budget https://www.acps.k12.va.us

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget FY 2018:
School Board Approved FY 2018-FY 2027 CIP Budget

161215_MEMO_FY18-27_CIP_Final_Adoption_v3.pdf
161215_ATTACHMENT2_CIP Budget Summary-v2.pdf
161215_ATTACHMENT3_CIP Budget Non-capacity details.pdf
http://esbpublic.acps.k12.va.us/public_itemview.aspx?ItemId=8442&mtgId=965

[Anonymous]

Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

My guess is that TC would become the high school for the GW students in the "east.". (Unless GW goes back to being a high school)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

My guess is that TC would become the high school for the GW students in the "east.". (Unless GW goes back to being a high school)

That's assured, but the school board hasn't officially said so yet (although several members have been quite open about wanting the west end kids out of TC Williams).

[Anonymous]

I don't see any of this being pulled off any time soon; they've got to find another superintendent. It's all got to go through the joint working group with the city and tons of people don't want to give the a dime. The elementary CIP's have all been pushed off already. There's also strong push for 9/10 at Minnie Howard and 11/12 at TC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see any of this being pulled off any time soon; they've got to find another superintendent. It's all got to go through the joint working group with the city and tons of people don't want to give the a dime. The elementary CIP's have all been pushed off already. There's also strong push for 9/10 at Minnie Howard and 11/12 at TC.

This option was rejected. The school board adopted (unanimously, 4 times) high school specifications providing for two high schools, both 9-12, 1800 students each. That's the final and only plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This option was rejected. The school board adopted (unanimously, 4 times) high school specifications providing for two high schools, both 9-12, 1800 students each. That's the final and only plan.

There's a long, long way from adopting "specifications" to having a plan for a second high school set in stone. Land has to be identified and acquired, NIMBYs have to be defeated, school board members who support a new high school will have to be re-elected against rivals that will run against a new school. I'll believe it when I see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

That might have been an original intention, but that's not the way the school board voted. The school board voted (unanimously, four times, over almost a year) to adopt the document as "requirements" for "compliance." Of course there's no real estate yet, although the school board looks at things like abandoned office buildings to shunt the west end kids into from time to time. The only final, unanimous decision is, when the new high school goes forward, both the new high school and TC Williams will both be 9-12. No other option was even considered (Minnie Howard as 9-10 and TC Williams as 11-12 was not even raised in the school board's votes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

That might have been an original intention, but that's not the way the school board voted. The school board voted (unanimously, four times, over almost a year) to adopt the document as "requirements" for "compliance." Of course there's no real estate yet, although the school board looks at things like abandoned office buildings to shunt the west end kids into from time to time. The only final, unanimous decision is, when the new high school goes forward, both the new high school and TC Williams will both be 9-12. No other option was even considered (Minnie Howard as 9-10 and TC Williams as 11-12 was not even raised in the school board's votes).

Why not just reopen GW as a high school, since it previously was one. And, reopen Minnie Howard as a middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

That might have been an original intention, but that's not the way the school board voted. The school board voted (unanimously, four times, over almost a year) to adopt the document as "requirements" for "compliance." Of course there's no real estate yet, although the school board looks at things like abandoned office buildings to shunt the west end kids into from time to time. The only final, unanimous decision is, when the new high school goes forward, both the new high school and TC Williams will both be 9-12. No other option was even considered (Minnie Howard as 9-10 and TC Williams as 11-12 was not even raised in the school board's votes).

Why not just reopen GW as a high school, since it previously was one. And, reopen Minnie Howard as a middle school.

Issue there is that there would be no full-capacity middle on the east side of the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

That might have been an original intention, but that's not the way the school board voted. The school board voted (unanimously, four times, over almost a year) to adopt the document as "requirements" for "compliance." Of course there's no real estate yet, although the school board looks at things like abandoned office buildings to shunt the west end kids into from time to time. The only final, unanimous decision is, when the new high school goes forward, both the new high school and TC Williams will both be 9-12. No other option was even considered (Minnie Howard as 9-10 and TC Williams as 11-12 was not even raised in the school board's votes).

None of this is true. There are a few certain folks that keep posting this, and it's been refuted multiple times.
There has been adoption of high school specifications. These are baseline/boilerplate understandings of the expectations that should go into considering any new school build. These specifications do NOT lay out any commitment to exact numbers of students, or how students are distributed. It lays out information as a starting point in a construction project. It tells you what kinds of square footage needs there are for general high school classrooms. It tells you what kinds of things need be to included for specialized classrooms (science labs, Career and Technical training classrooms, art classrooms). It tells you what kind of support spaces you need (nurse office, admin spaces, etc.)

Votes for adopting high school specifications do not constitute a vote on the specific size or program at any school building.

Several years ago, specification were also adopted for the elementary schools. These specs for the elementary give guidance on preferred numbers, just as the high school specs give recommendations on ideal high school size (and yes TC is way bigger) but Alexandria currently has smaller elementary schools that go below that ideal elementary number and larger elementary schools that go above that ideal elementary number.
Adoption of the elementary specs did NOT mean that every elementary school is the city would be torn down and rebuilt to meet the specifications recommended number.

Similarly, there is no such mandate associated with the adoption of the high school specification.
The adopted High School specifications document is located here:
https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf
Page 2 of this document contains the following statement:
"This document is not intended to serve as a design for any specific proposed high school construction project.
Rather, this document serves to guide future planning efforts for high school development as well as assess
current conditions of ACPS high school(s). This document is not intended to limit future high school designs but
provides a base set of space requirements to initiate the design process. Each high school construction project
will require a separate, site-specific Ed. Spec. and thorough community and staff engagement process."

The School Board discussed the high school specifications at the January 12 and 26 meetings. In those meetings it was specifically referenced that the language in the educational specifications did not constitute a vote that would determine the exact size and programming of any future high school buildings. Board asked for language clearly stating that to be inserted into the document, and it was before it was adopted.

There is discussion of redoing the Minnie Howard campus building, pending sufficient funding of the Capital Improvements Budget. That building currently houses 9th graders, with the King Street campus housing grades 10-12. In all Capital Improvement Budget related material, the discussion has been around the need for a newer, larger high school BUILDING at the Minnie Howard campus, not a new separate second high school, at Minnie Howard site or anywhere else.

In community meetings related to Long Range Facilities planning, there has been discussion about numerous ways to address the increasing high school population. Ideas include:
partnering with NOVA to offer a program on their campus that would allow high school student to enroll in a program and attend classes there that would result in student graduating with a high school diploma and an Associates Degree.
Allowing more transportation between the two campuses throughout the day to provide maximum efficient use of all classroom space.
Continuing support of the Satellite program, which allows student to do coursework almost entirely online.
Adjusting the grade configuration of the two buildings. Contrary to what PP has said there has been no final decision made on this, no "rejection" of a 9-10 and 11-12 configuration. At this point, it's just one of a number of possible considerations.

I suspect that when there is a firmer commitment on the exact timeline and $ to be allocated to the Minnie Howard project, there will be further deliberation and decisions made on some of these ideas. At this point, it's premature.

I'm sure there are some people that might want a second high school, fearing that TC Williams is too large. I certainly know many other folks (and I count myself among them) who do not feel that for the foreseeable future there should be second stand alone high school, as it would result in a significant reduction the the programmatic offerings available to students (wouldn't be able to support as many AP classes or clubs as wouldn't have sufficient critical mass of student at each high school to support.)

What I do know is that at this point, there is no plan for second stand-alone high school. PP that keeps referring to school board "votes" has been corrected multiple times on multiple threads related to TC regarding this point, but keeps insisting that there are "votes" that have been done and that it's been decided that there is a second high school. It's not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure the zone map has been released. TC will be divided into two schools and the boundaries will be set by the school board, but some school board members have talked east-west. The official plan is at - https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf

That is not a plan, its set of specs that any new school must meet IF it is built. It does not say where, when, or if any new school is to be built.

That might have been an original intention, but that's not the way the school board voted. The school board voted (unanimously, four times, over almost a year) to adopt the document as "requirements" for "compliance." Of course there's no real estate yet, although the school board looks at things like abandoned office buildings to shunt the west end kids into from time to time. The only final, unanimous decision is, when the new high school goes forward, both the new high school and TC Williams will both be 9-12. No other option was even considered (Minnie Howard as 9-10 and TC Williams as 11-12 was not even raised in the school board's votes).

None of this is true. There are a few certain folks that keep posting this, and it's been refuted multiple times.
There has been adoption of high school specifications. These are baseline/boilerplate understandings of the expectations that should go into considering any new school build. These specifications do NOT lay out any commitment to exact numbers of students, or how students are distributed. It lays out information as a starting point in a construction project. It tells you what kinds of square footage needs there are for general high school classrooms. It tells you what kinds of things need be to included for specialized classrooms (science labs, Career and Technical training classrooms, art classrooms). It tells you what kind of support spaces you need (nurse office, admin spaces, etc.)

Votes for adopting high school specifications do not constitute a vote on the specific size or program at any school building.

Several years ago, specification were also adopted for the elementary schools. These specs for the elementary give guidance on preferred numbers, just as the high school specs give recommendations on ideal high school size (and yes TC is way bigger) but Alexandria currently has smaller elementary schools that go below that ideal elementary number and larger elementary schools that go above that ideal elementary number.
Adoption of the elementary specs did NOT mean that every elementary school is the city would be torn down and rebuilt to meet the specifications recommended number.

Similarly, there is no such mandate associated with the adoption of the high school specification.
The adopted High School specifications document is located here:
https://www.acps.k12.va.us/cms/lib/VA01918616/Centricity/Domain/1026/facilities-specifications-high-school.pdf
Page 2 of this document contains the following statement:
"This document is not intended to serve as a design for any specific proposed high school construction project.
Rather, this document serves to guide future planning efforts for high school development as well as assess
current conditions of ACPS high school(s). This document is not intended to limit future high school designs but
provides a base set of space requirements to initiate the design process. Each high school construction project
will require a separate, site-specific Ed. Spec. and thorough community and staff engagement process."

The School Board discussed the high school specifications at the January 12 and 26 meetings. In those meetings it was specifically referenced that the language in the educational specifications did not constitute a vote that would determine the exact size and programming of any future high school buildings. Board asked for language clearly stating that to be inserted into the document, and it was before it was adopted.

There is discussion of redoing the Minnie Howard campus building, pending sufficient funding of the Capital Improvements Budget. That building currently houses 9th graders, with the King Street campus housing grades 10-12. In all Capital Improvement Budget related material, the discussion has been around the need for a newer, larger high school BUILDING at the Minnie Howard campus, not a new separate second high school, at Minnie Howard site or anywhere else.

In community meetings related to Long Range Facilities planning, there has been discussion about numerous ways to address the increasing high school population. Ideas include:
partnering with NOVA to offer a program on their campus that would allow high school student to enroll in a program and attend classes there that would result in student graduating with a high school diploma and an Associates Degree.
Allowing more transportation between the two campuses throughout the day to provide maximum efficient use of all classroom space.
Continuing support of the Satellite program, which allows student to do coursework almost entirely online.
Adjusting the grade configuration of the two buildings. Contrary to what PP has said there has been no final decision made on this, no "rejection" of a 9-10 and 11-12 configuration. At this point, it's just one of a number of possible considerations.

I suspect that when there is a firmer commitment on the exact timeline and $ to be allocated to the Minnie Howard project, there will be further deliberation and decisions made on some of these ideas. At this point, it's premature.

I'm sure there are some people that might want a second high school, fearing that TC Williams is too large. I certainly know many other folks (and I count myself among them) who do not feel that for the foreseeable future there should be second stand alone high school, as it would result in a significant reduction the the programmatic offerings available to students (wouldn't be able to support as many AP classes or clubs as wouldn't have sufficient critical mass of student at each high school to support.)

What I do know is that at this point, there is no plan for second stand-alone high school. PP that keeps referring to school board "votes" has been corrected multiple times on multiple threads related to TC regarding this point, but keeps insisting that there are "votes" that have been done and that it's been decided that there is a second high school. It's not true.

Unfortunately, literally false.

The educational specifications contain a few disclaimer words on one page. But they also go on, at great length, over dozens of pages, about being "requirements" for "compliance" that will "specif[y]" the new high school's size, organization, and 9-12 student population. They do not even mention or consider, anywhere, any school structure except for two (or even more) 9-12 schools - the theoretical possibility of a 9/10 and 11/12 structure is not mentioned in the document even once. Not once in the specifications is any other option mentioned. Not once. And the document must be highly meaningful and reflect actual intention - it was released, discussed, debated, staff-analyzed, etc four different times, unanimously. Characterizing the specifications as being less than what they are is inconsistent with their explicit language, and their manner of repeated adoption.

That's why the school board explicitly included, in its capital budget request, funding for an undescribed additional high school project.

School board is trying to railroad this through by plainly dishonest statements. If school board were not preparing exactly what the documents and the budgets say, school board would enact a resolution saying so, and transmit that to city council, with an explanatory modification to the budget request.